US embassy cable - 05AMMAN1997

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001997 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ECON, EFIN, KPAL, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: FM MULKI ON HIS MARCH 5-6 VISIT TO ISRAEL AND THE 
PA 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 1945 
 
     B. AMMAN 1924 
     C. AMMAN 1719 
     D. AMMAN 1353 
     E. AMMAN 571 
 
Classified By: Charge d'affaires a.i. David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) an 
d (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Foreign Minister Mulki described to Charge a 
very positive visit to Israel.  Israel and Jordan agreed to 
seek U.S. support for reviving the trilateral economic 
committee, and Mulki believes he gained PM Sharon,s support 
for a deal on the release of Jordanian prisoners in Israeli 
jails.  Israeli Ambassador Handelsman told us that Israeli 
officials informed Mulki they neither welcomed nor accepted 
the idea of deploying the Badr Brigade (Palestinian security 
elements recruited in Jordan in the mid-90s) in Palestinian 
territories, effectively killing that initiative.  They did 
welcome a Jordanian role in training new recruits, however. 
End Summary 
 
2.  (C) Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Al-Mulki provided 
Charge March 8 with a readout of his March 5-6 visit to 
Israel and the Palestinian Authority (ref a).  He called the 
trip overall &very positive.8 
 
3.  (C) Prisoners:  Mulki claimed that in a "one-on-one" 
meeting with PM Sharon (and Dov Weisglas), the Israeli PM 
undertook to seek cabinet agreement to &try to find a way8 
to release as early as March 14 some of the Jordanians jailed 
for crimes committed before the two countries, peace treaty 
of 1994.  (Separately, Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Yaakov 
Handelsman, who had participated in most of Mulki,s other 
meetings in Israel, told Charge there was such a one-on-one 
and conceded prisoners may have been discussed.  However, 
Handelsman was skeptical that prisoners could be freed 
quickly, even if the cabinet agreed, as the Israeli victims, 
families would be entitled to a court hearing.) 
 
4.  (C) Mulki added that &my plan,8 after the prisoners are 
released, is for the King to then travel to Israel in March. 
Mulki asked us not to speak about this idea (we suspect 
because the King is not aware of it.) 
 
5.  (C) Trilateral economic committee: Mulki said FM Shalom 
had &enthusiastically8 agreed to seek the revival of the 
old U.S.-Jordan-Israel committee on economic development, 
which last met in the mid-90,s.  Handelsman confirmed this; 
he did not yet have a readout from Shalom,s recent meetings 
in Washington, but expected the FM to have raised it.  Mulki 
said Israeli trade minister Olmert was enthusiastic, too.  If 
Washington supports this idea, post proposes a re-inaugural 
meeting in Jordan on the margins of the May 20-22 World 
Economic Forum, when we could take advantage of a strong 
private sector business presence. 
 
6.  (C) Israeli investment in Jordan:  In Israel Mulki 
plugged for more investment in Jordan.  Handelsman commented 
to Charge that many potential Israeli investors are deterred 
because Jordanian lawyers will not represent them in legal 
efforts to protect their assets.  This is a direct result of 
the Jordanian professional associations, anti-normalization 
campaign, in which lawyers who might represent Israeli 
clients are intimidated and threatened with loss of their 
licenses (refs c through e).  The recent GOJ campaign to rein 
in the associations (ref b) may eventually solve Israeli 
investors, problems, but leaves the GOJ open to charges that 
it is back-sliding on civil liberties. 
 
7.  (C) Red Sea-Dead Sea project:  Local press reported that 
Mulki pressed for a revival of Jordanian-Israeli efforts to 
seek financing for this mega-project.  These efforts had been 
on hold for several years because of Palestinian objections. 
Handelsman told Charge that Israel and Jordan will now seek a 
World Bank agreement to carry out a feasibility study without 
active Palestinian Authority participation; the Palestinian 
Authority would be identified as "beneficiaries8 but not 
&participants8 in the project. 
 
8.  (C) Badr Brigade:  According to Handelsman, Mulki was 
told by senior Israeli officials that they did not welcome 
the deployment of the Badr Brigade, a group of Palestinian 
security elements recruited from among refugees and ex-PLA 
elements in Jordan in the mid-90s, but never deployed in the 
Palestinian territories.  Regardless of Jordanian vetting, 
the Israelis did not believe the Jordanian GID would be able 
to exercise sufficient control over them, once deployed, to 
overcome Israeli misgivings about their loyalty and 
competence.  However, the Israelis welcomed a Jordanian role 
in training newly recruited Palestinian forces, whether in 
Jordan or Jericho. 
HALE